HID KIT FITMENT easy or difficult????

[BASH29]

hi guys

i want to upgrade my lights to HID, have sween some on ebay for about £40.

i have some experience of wiring complex sound systems, but thats as far as my knowledge goes.

i asked my local garage and he has quoted me £60 to fit, but only if i purchase the HID kit of him for £60 aswell, total £120. HID Kit is very similar to the ones on ebay

my concern is, if i fit the HID kit, its the wiring that i will find difficult

do i have to chop the original wires??? or should i use the plastic clips with a blade fitment that sit around the wire and the balde presses through the plastic to grab current from the core???

the question is, is £60 a reasonable ask???? kit comes with 6 month warranty if fitted by garage!

regards

bash

 

[gazR]

very easy to fit. use the existing headlight connectors by connecting the hid kit using spade connectors. cant really go wrong with the wiring. have to cut a hold 25mm iirc in the headlight cap. should be done in 30mins. where abouts you located? could give you a hand if you want

 

[ChrisGTL]

As above, no chopping needed at all. Hardest bit is locating a good place for the ballasts.

Easily done in one hour.

 

[gazR]

Yeah, me and Dougie from here fitted mine in ~30-40 minutes, he did his on his own in around the same time. Drilled a hole (I've got 28mm in my head, but could well be wrong), a bit of faffing around with the spade connectors, and we had to take the battery off because there wasn't enough room for me to get my fat, inflexible hands in at the right angle. That was the longest part of the job because no matter how carefully I put the battery back in, it wouldn't quite sit right, so had to remove it and put it back about 3 times before it'd bolt down properly and the fuse board would sit on the top correctly.

The only "exposed" parts are the spade connectors which go through the backplate and sit inside the light unit anyway. The other bits are (or at least were on mine and Dougie's) decent quality "lockable" connectors, with what looks like decent rubber parts to keep the connectors together and avoid any water ingress, so I don't think there'll be too much issue with warranty as long as they work when first fitted. I'm led to believe HIDs are designed to outlast the car so AFAIK you shouldn't ever have to change the bulbs once done.

dont think they will outlast a car but they will last longer than normal halogen bulbs. ive got small hands got mine in suprising easy without removing the battery its 25mm makes a better seal

yes. the plastic cover you take off to repalce your bulbs, you need to drill a hole through for the wires for the kit to pass through. had to make a 25mm hole for mine. guessing it will be similar if not the same for other kits. i did mine last week. was quick and easy to fit. literally about 15-20mins.

 

[BASH29]

cheers guys really appreciate the help.

gaz im in the city, peartree, might just take you up on your offfer soon, just want to order the HID and the weather to improve.

the drilling part, do you have to remove the lights to drill the holes???

cheers guys

 

[gazR]

Fair enough, better last a while then, not going through all that hassle again Dougie did his without removing the battery so if we'd swapped sides and he'd done the passenger one we might have been alright, I got my hands in OK but I just couldn't twist around any way that made it possible to fit the HID bulb and get the backplate back on.

well worth the hassle though, its a great mod. passenger side is tight and takes a steady hand to get the bulb in without touching the sides. i struggled most getting the locking clip back on, would probably been easier to remove the battery as you did for my first hid kit install.

 

[gazR]

cheers guys really appreciate the help.

gaz im in the city, peartree, might just take you up on your offfer soon, just want to order the HID and the weather to improve.

the drilling part, do you have to remove the lights to drill the holes???

cheers guys

ok no probs. just have to remove the caps under the bonnet not the whole headlight.

 

[gazR]

I was pretty underwhelmed by it when we'd first done them, but I think the alignment is just terrible. I've raised the lights about 4 full turns each side which has given me some extra height and judging by the spread of light shouldn't blind people, it's a LOT better now down unlit roads. Before, there was a pool of light about 1.5 car lengths in front and then nothing, made it really difficult to actually see down unlit roads although there was enough light to reflect off road signs etc. I need to get someone to align them properly but it'll do for now, and no wonder I wanted HIDs cos if the alignment was that bad with OEM yellow bulbs in it's a surprise I could see anything

standard bulbs arent much better alligned, mine were alligned correctly it was like having a couple of candles on the bonnet nothing compared to HIDs

 

[wazzzer]

cheers guys really appreciate the help.

gaz im in the city, peartree, might just take you up on your offfer soon, just want to order the HID and the weather to improve.

the drilling part, do you have to remove the lights to drill the holes???

cheers guys

What HID's are you going for??Im wanting to do the same mod but there are so many on ebay dont know what ones to go for.

 

[gazR]

What HID's are you going for??Im wanting to do the same mod but there are so many on ebay dont know what ones to go for.

normal sized ballasts £40, slim ballast £55-60

 

[gazR]

Mine were £57 posted from gps-ppc on eBay. Seems a good quality kit, sturdy bulbs not plastic like they show in their pictures, slim ballasts that are easily mountable to the back of the headlight covers with some no.6 self-tapping screws, free P&P but delivered pretty quickly and well packaged.

ive probably got the same kit as you, i got mine from the same seller, no problems yet been in just over a year

 

[BASH29]

i have just had a look on e-bay, from the seller you purchased from gaz, can you please have a look and let me know if these are ok

item number

220466463409

i have seen some for 40 quid but these seem to be of a slightly better quality.

plus they have mini ballast which will help i guess.

going back to the drilling. i think i know what you mean

the rectangular plate on the back of the headlight unit, is this the part that needs to be drilled??

will hopefully order this week.

 

[gazR]

i have just had a look on e-bay, from the seller you purchased from gaz, can you please have a look and let me know if these are ok

item number

220466463409

i have seen some for 40 quid but these seem to be of a slightly better quality.

plus they have mini ballast which will help i guess.

going back to the drilling. i think i know what you mean

the rectangular plate on the back of the headlight unit, is this the part that needs to be drilled??

will hopefully order this week.

thats the same kit me and gavin have got, youll be fine with them. the slim ballast just make it easier to mount as you have more possibilities to put them due to there size, could get away with the normal size cheaper ones.

as for quality of the £40 ones, the £57 kit you linked are the same quality the £40 ones. you just pay more for slimmer ballasts.

on to drilling its the headlight cap, the black plastic you take off to change a bulb is the bit you drill a hole in to

hope this helps

 

[BASH29]

cheers gaz

will order a pair tonight

cant wait to actually see in the dark.

did you go for the 6000k set

 

[gazR]

yeah i got 6000k, colours just right.

btw youll probably end up changing the sidelights too to match as theyll look yellow compared to HIDs

 

[gazR]

Good point - I ordered 2 * these to go with them, otherwise it does look a bit rubbish. I also plan to change the main beam bulbs when I've found some decent ones. Foglights I'll leave alone, I haven't seen any decent LED foglights that would actually be usable and for the amount of time I actually use them I'll live with them being yellow if it means people can see me in foggy conditions

good choice gavin i use the same sidelights too not the cheapest out there but they are a really good colour match

 

[mikeholroyd]

Forgive the ignorance, but is there enough room actually inside the headlight unit itself to mount the ballasts inside???

And if so, would the 20-odd mm hole still have to be drilled in the casing?

Thanks

Mike

 

[gazR]

Forgive the ignorance, but is there enough room actually inside the headlight unit itself to mount the ballasts inside???

And if so, would the 20-odd mm hole still have to be drilled in the casing?

Thanks

Mike

dont think there is even for the slim ballasts, everyone would have done it if it was. though if it could no the hole wouldnt needed

 

[mikeholroyd]

dont think there is even for the slim ballasts, everyone would have done it if it was. though if it could no the hole wouldnt needed

OK cheers.

Looking at the lights on my Octavia mark 2 as well, they seem much chunkier than the Leon's, so maybe room inside those. Really don't want to start cutting holes, as the kit could well be removed when the car is sold.


So is there any extra wiring involved, any supplementary power supply to the ballasts? Or does the kit simply fit between the existing wiring and the new HID bulb?

Thanks again

Mike

 

[gazR]

OK cheers.

Looking at the lights on my Octavia mark 2 as well, they seem much chunkier than the Leon's, so maybe room inside those. Really don't want to start cutting holes, as the kit could well be removed when the car is sold.

Thanks again

Mike

some cars could do this but leons are small. i was the same, i didnt want to drill but you could buy new caps if you sell the car are only something like £20 iirc from the stealer